Without a trace
by JensenAckles13
Summary: What happens when a married woman disappears without a trace and then is killed live on their computer screen? Nothing good, to say the least. Will Magnus and Kurt be able to find the killer before he strikes again or are they actually going to bargain with the maniac?
1. Chapter 1

**Without a trace**

Magnus sighed and laid his head down on his arms. He'd been working non-stop to find thirty seven year old Jessica Darling, who had mysteriously disappeared out of her bedroom four days ago in broad daylight without a trace. There hadn't even been finger prints. Her husband had called in as soon as he had noticed she was gone. Of course, she hadn't been considered missing until two days ago because missing persons weren't actually considered 'missing' until they were gone for forty-eight hours. He rubbed at his aching head, and closed his eyes. _Just for a minute, _he told himself. He hadn't realized he had been dozing until a hand tapped his shoulder and a loud voice called his name. He was shaken from his nap. He bolted upright, blinking furiously and rubbing at his eyes.

"Sorry, Kurt, must've been more out of it than I thought," he mumbled under his breath.

"How long have you been here, kid?" Kurt's rough voice asked. He looked over at the older man and ran a weary hand over his face and through his blond curls.

"I don't know. I guess since yesterday?" he replied with a slight frown.

"Are you asking me or telling me?" the older detective asked with amusement in his voice.

"Telling you, I suppose," Magnus said with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, did you need something?"

"Only for you to fix my bloody computer. It won't let me pull up my e-mail." Kurt muttered irritably. Magnus smirked up at the detective, who just glowered down at him. He pushed himself up and stretched his aching back with a groan. Kurt watched him carefully for a moment before turning and heading off to his office. Magnus frowned at the black screen of his laptop and all the files surrounding it and then marched after Kurt. He sat heavily in Kurt's chair and set to work figuring out what the computers problem was. He frowned. It was down. That was odd; his had been working just fine. It wouldn't even turn on. He looked around as the lights flickered, not unlike something in a horror movie and it was eerily creepy. He stood as the lights went completely out, and glanced back at Kurt, who had a deep frown on his face. Magnus stood and slowly walked out of the detective's office to see what the problem was. People were looking around, confused. He quickly walked up to Anne-Britt.

"Do you know what's happened?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"No, the power is completely shut down. Even the copying machines don't work," She said, sounding troubled. That was when it happened. They all heard the garbling sound of static, and then someone's computer turned itself on. All of the detectives gathered around it. On the screen, a man was sitting in a wooden chair with a black ski mask over his face. Magnus noted that he was wearing an expensive looking suit and leather shoes.

"I bet you're all wondering what has happened here," the man said with a deep American accent in a voice that bled with power. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you have something I want, and I'm not going to stop until I get it. You have a boy in custody. His name is James Franco. I'm going to kill someone every four day's until I get him. You won't see me coming, believe me," The man turned the screen, and there they saw Jessica Darling. Her curly blond hair was messy and her makeup was running, like she had recently been crying. She was tied to a chair and had a gag in her mouth. Magnus flinched, the need to do _something _too strong for him to ignore, but he couldn't do anything. Jessica looked as if she was trying to say something to them, but the gag was preventing them from understanding it. "May this be your warning; I am not playing games," the man said, before raising his arm. Magnus saw in fear that there was handgun in his clearly experienced black gloved hand. Jessica's eyes widened, and tears started streaming down her face again. The man pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang and then there was a hole right between Jessica's eyes and she slumped over, her green staring eyes dull and lifeless. "I will choose my next victim tonight. You have four days, Detectives. I suggest you move quickly," the man said, finality in his voice, before the screen went black. The power came back on, the lights flickering once before coming back on completely. Computer and laptop screens came back to life, but there was silence. Kurt was the one to break it. He looked Magnus dead in the eyes before speaking in an utterly serious voice;

"Find him, Martinsson. He's going to kill again and we're going to find the bloody bastard before he gets the chance."

**Alright, guy's I know this was kind of short, but I'll try to lengthen up the chapters. Please read and review! I always love to hear what y'all think! Plus, they help me write faster *hint hint*. This story was for ****Detective Vinci **** who left a wonderful review and asked for another fic. Here ya go! Hope you like it! **

**TBC**


	2. The Search 2

**Wallander Fic**

**The Search 2**

His head was still throbbing, but then again he didn't really think the fierce ache would go away so it wasn't all that surprising. He had searched long and hard but this guy was good. He had gone through all the case files with a fine toothed comb and still nothing had come up; the killer left no fingerprints- he didn't even leave foot prints. The only evidence of him ever taking Jessica was the burning cigarette in the ashtray, a Black Devil. Now the second victim had been taken and again, there was a burning cigarette in the ashtray. So far the only thing common between the two victims was that they were both rich, like filthy rich. Jessica Darling's husband was in the oil company, and the second victim, Harry Colt, worked for Microsoft. Of course, they were both married but that hardly counted as something being common because most people were married anyways. Now they were at Harry's house, a huge three story mansion with a winding staircase and dozens of famous paintings hanging in glass cases on the walls. Funny, that was another similar thing between the two; they both had an interest in the fine art, such as Picasso and Van Gogh. He couldn't help but admire the paintings as he walked past, searching for anything to help them. They were down to three days now, before their guy killed Harry. Magnus sighed and rubbed his fingers roughly into his aching temples, before running his hands over his face and through his curls. Kurt was grumpy now, trudging around and snapping at anything he could. He had even yelled at Magnus earlier for not picking up the phone fast enough, but he honestly didn't see why _he _had to answer the phone when _everyone else _was gathered around the table the phone was centered at. He looked over at his boss, who seemed like he had a frown permanently etched on his weary features. He caught Magnus staring and glared at him. The young detective rolled his eyes, and after deciding that there was nothing on this level that was useful or suspicious, he slowly made his way up the stairs to the third and final level. He was really looking forward to seeing his bed when he got home but Kurt had made it very clear earlier that he was not to go home until they had found their guy. He decided to start in Harry's office, which was, of course, on the top floor and huge with sky light windows and a large balcony. This was presumably where he was taken. He started with the desk, searching through the mound of papers on it.

It took about an hour of carefully reading the papers before he found anything. It wasn't much but it was something; a ticket for a poker game at a Cosmpol casino in Stockholm, the same one that had been on Jessica's desk. He put it in an evidence bag and then made his way down to Kurt.

"Kurt, I found something," he said as he walked over. "It's a ticket for a poker game in a Cosmpol casino in Stockholm. Jessica had one just like it on her desk. It looks to me like they owe someone money, and my best guess would be that that someone is our killer," he said proudly, holding up the bag with the ticket. Kurt raised his eyebrows at Magnus' Cheshire Cat grin, but looked semi-impressed about the fact that Magnus had remembered that.

"Alright, looks like we're going to need to go to that casino," Kurt said before turning sharply and heading down the stairs. Magnus shook his head and rolled his eyes before following his boss.

The drive wasn't too long but the sight that greeted them when they got there was not the one they were hoping for.

"Well, Magnus, I guess your poker ticked idea was valid," Kurt said as he stared at the building.

"Yeah, I guess so," Magnus replied as he stared in awe at the building, or more like what had once been a building. Firemen surrounded the building, trying to extinguish the huge roar of flames surrounding the building. Magnus looked around, trying to see something, anything, to let them know if this was the work of their killer. Then he saw him. The same man from the video, the same man who had killed Jessica Darling, with the ski mask on over his careful and clean cut suit, was standing behind and off to the right of the fire. The last thing Magnus saw before the building exploded was the reflection of the orange flames dancing in the man's eyes like the devil himself.


	3. The flames within us 3

**The flames within us 3**

When he awoke it was to a strangely consistent beeping sound, and the smell of antiseptic. He groaned as a fierce throb began in his head when he opened his eyes. They were assaulted by a harsh bright light.

"Mr. Martinsson?" a voice in front of him asked. He cracked one of the eyes he didn't know he had closed open and looked over at the source. A young nurse stood in front of him and was looking at him with worried eyes. _Explosion…hospital…._he sighed.

"Yes?" he mumbled. "What happened?" he asked with a frown.

"You were hurt in an explosion. You cracked two ribs, gained yourself a concussion and a multitude of bruises on your back from where you landed," the young woman said with a soft, sad smile.

"Right, right….what about my b- uh, Kurt Wallander? Is he here? How is he?" he wondered aloud as he remembers that Kurt had been right next to him.

"Yes, right. He also has a concussion, and fractured his right wrist and also has an extent of bruising on his back, but he'll be alright with rest….Mr. Martinsson, what are you doing?" the nurse asked as he began pushing himself up.

"I have a job to do, ma'am. I'm sorry, but I need to go…." he replied. The nurse sighed, and turned hard green eyes on him.

"Mr. Martinsson, I simply cannot allow you to go. You've been in and out for a day and a half and you are in no condition to go anywhere!" the nurse said in an exasperated tone. Good thing he felt like being equally stubborn today and was in no mood for games.

"Is that so? Then get me some AMA papers. I have to go, whether you like it or not," he said, crossing his arms defiantly, ignoring the painful tug in his chest. The nurse sighed again.

"Please, Mr. Martinsson, we'd just like to keep you for the next twenty four hours." she tried again.

"And I would like to be gone in the next twenty four minutes so please go get the papers or I will walk out of here myself," he demanded. The nurse shrank back a bit as he set his glaring blue eyes on hers, and then she nodded and hurried off to get the papers. He smiled smugly to himself just before a doctor who couldn't be older than his early thirties strolled in with a confident gait. People like that really pissed Magnus off, especially that smile that said 'I'm better than everyone so stop trying to be like me', but he did force a smile himself.

"Mr. Martinsson, you aren't permitted to leave yet. You were hurt pretty badly," the young doctor said in that cocky tone that Magnus knew he, himself often had.

"Then permit me doctor, because I need to go," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"I can't just do that. Who do you think I am a magician? I can't just make you better, Mr. Martinsson. That's something you have to do all on your own." the doctor had a smirk permanently etched onto his features and it was really starting to make Magnus mad.

"Okay, listen up, doc, I'm leaving today. Go get me my AMA papers; now, otherwise I will get up and walk out of this place all on my own." he growled. The doctors smile grew Cheshire.

"And how do you plan to do that, young man?" he asked. Magnus sighed in exasperation and a smirk pulled up on his features.

"I'm a detective; you know what that means? It means I have a gun and if you don't let me go I will use it, got it?" he said in a deadly serious tone and just _hoped _he was lying well enough. The doctor's smirk faded and his grin slipped away.

"Alright, fine, I'll go get your papers," the doctor said with a small nod and then he rushed from the room. Magnus grinned to himself.

Only twenty minutes later he was walking out the door. He had called a cab and was now on his way to his house to get his car. It was only a half hour drive, so Magnus paid the cab driver when they got to his house and watched him drive away before pulling out his key and going inside to change and shower. Once that feat was complete he felt more refreshed. He took the prescription the doctor had given him, swallowing it down with a gulp of the wonderful black coffee. He made sure his gun was loaded, assembling it and reassembling it. He then made sure he had his laptop and the file for their killer, and then he marched out the door. He shuddered as he remembered the man's eyes boring into his; the gleams of the flames in his eyes making him seem even more dangerous. He now only had a day and a half to find the killer, and he would do it, no matter what. He took a deep breath and got into his car, relishing the purr of the engine to calm his tense muscles. There was no time to be wasted; he had a killer to catch.

**Alright, so that is the latest chapter. I hope you guys like it! And again, a thanks to ****Detective Vinci**** for being so supportive! I really appreciate it! Please read and review! I'm trying to post a chapter every two days. I'm not really sure how long this will be, but I hope you like it! **


	4. Almost caught 4

Almost caught 4

He quickly made his way down to Kurt's room. He could hear the older detective calling for a nurse so he quickened his pace, ignoring the throbbing in his head and the stabbing pain in his chest. Kurt looked surprised to see him when he came in.

"Martinsson," Kurt said. "What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in your own room?" the older man asked.

"Hey, Kurt. No, actually. I signed out AMA." he replied. "But I was wondering, well more like asking your permission, if I could go and look for our killer?" he asked hopefully. Kurt regarded him with careful eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, the man answered;

"Fine, go ahead, but only if you report to me if you have something, understood?" Kurt made it very clear he was not playing around with a single look.

"Yessir, I understand," he said quickly. Kurt raised his eyebrows.

"You've never called me sir before; don't start now," Kurt mumbled.

"Yes ma'am," he replied with a smirk, making it out the door with a laugh before the pillow could hit him.

It didn't take too long to drive back to the office. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't entirely sure why he didn't call Kurt instead of going down there. Perhaps to check if he was okay, or maybe because no one could refuse when he gave the puppy dog eyes. You couldn't do that over the phone. He sighed and rubbed the heel of his hand into his aching head, and trudged up the stairs and to his desk. He booted up his laptop and got to work; he only had a day to find their killer before Harry was dead, and he didn't plan on letting that happen. He re-read the two case files to see if there was anything to give him a hint as to where the killer was hiding. No fingerprints, no footprints and no sign of forced entry. Wasn't this a blast? Well, there weren't very many places that sold Black Devils in Sweden. He searched the places that did and called, getting the name of everyone who had bought a pack of Black Devils in the last year. He came up with twelve names.

The first three- Mike Joseph, John Wheedon and Justin Moore- didn't have the right eye colours. He wouldn't ever forget the biting green of their killers eyes. The next two were women, so that wouldn't make any sense. That left seven men. He sighed and went back and watched the video of the man killing Jessica again, and only saw one detail he had missed- the killer had two watches on. That was strange all on its own. Maybe they were two different time zones; American and the United Kingdom? It would make sense if their guy traveled a lot between his home country and the UK. He frowned and replayed the video. The gun- a Colt 1911, mint condition and pearl handled. Alright, he'd have to see if any of their guys had this gun. He searched their history and sure enough- a pearl handled Colt 1911. He grinned to himself. The gun belonged to Corey Darling. His frown depended as realisation hit him. That was Jessica's husband. He cursed to himself. Corey had a 2011 Buick. He searched the license plate number: KAYZ-701. It was currently at an abandon warehouse just outside of town, about a half hour from where he was. He grinned and grabbed his gun and badge and hurried out the door. Once he got into his car he called Kurt.

"Hey, I found our guy. It's Jessica's husband, Corey. I'm heading to where he is now." he replied in a rush. He could practically hear Kurt's raised eyebrows.

"Alright, be careful," Kurt said.

"Ok, bye Kurt." he replied and then hung up. He pushed further on the accelerator and made it to the warehouse in twenty minutes. He pulled out his gun and silently made his way inside, making sure to place his steps carefully. That's when he saw him; Harry was tied to a chair, the same chair Jessica had been in, and had a fearful look on his face. Corey was nowhere in sight. He quickly made his way over and pulled the gag out of his mouth.

"Hello, I'm Magnus Martinsson in the Sweden police. I'm here to help you," he said in a hushed voice before he began untying the poor man. That was when all hell broke loose as he heard the door open. He looked around and ran silently to a pile of crates and hid behind them. He couldn't see the door or Corey from his place. That's why he wasn't expecting something heavy ramming into his head or the flash of white hot agony in his already concussed head. Just before he sank into the sweetness of dark oblivion, an elegant voice whispered in his ear;

"You've just become my next victim."

**Alright guys, there it is. I got this idea from ****Detective Vinci****! Thanks girl! My laptop keeps shutting itself down(I still haven't ruled out possession) so it might be a bit in between posts but i'll still try for ever two days!**


	5. Life Saving, Life Ending

He blinked his eyes open, biting back a groan at the blinding pain in his head. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, and when he did it all came back in one giant rush. His eyes widened in the dark room and he strained against his bonds. This wasn't supposed to happen- he was supposed to be the rescuer, not the damsel in distress. Speaking of...he glanced around, trained eyes scanning for Harry. The sight he saw made him gag. Harry was slumped on the floor against the wall, blood trailing down his face in small rivulets, arms and legs askew, big brown eyes open and unseeing. When he heard footsteps his movements stilled, eyes and ears scanning in the darkness for Corey.

"Ah,my friend. It's been a while, but I'm afraid I must kill you now..." came a voice to his right. His eyes widened but he forced himself to stay still.

"Right now? Aren't all evil masterminds supposed to have a monolouge, tell me why you did what you did, blah blah blah?" he asked calmly. There was a pause and Magnus could feel his heart speed up in his chest. Silently he wondered if Corey could hear it's frantic beating.

"I suppose," Corey said after a minute. "What do you want to know, detective?" he asked.

"Why? Why would you kill your wife?" he asked.

"Ah, that bitch. Yes, well, as I'm sure you've figured out, but it's about money. Then again, isn't everything? We played poker, all the time. Together. We'd split up and win and then we'd disappear. Well, we ended up being pitted against each other. Pity, really. She was quite lovely. But, the devil, she was cheating. Oh, she was cheating and that was not alright. I was in control of the both of us and she decides to go off and..._find another man?_ That wasn't alright. She took all my money and all hers and fled with this man. I bet you can't guess who that was?" A light came on over head, illuminating Corey who stood not a foot away. Magnus had to force himself not to flinch.

"Harry," Magnus replied, realization slowly dawning on him. "So...she took your money, cheated on you, so you decided to kill Jessica _and _Harry?" he asked, bewildered.

"Now you're getting it!" Corey said in a cheery voice.

"I'm so glad," he said dryly.

"Well, that's good," Corey smirked. "I'd hoped you would before I killed you," the man grinned and lovingly picked up a gun.

"What, no video?" he smirked but Corey simply grinned.

"No, my friend, no video," he cocked the gun and pointed it at Magnus' head.

"Wait!" he said. "There's so much more i need to understand..." Corey sighed but nodded. "LIke, what happens when you get arrested?"

"Who says I'm going to?" Corey asked with far too much confidence.

"Oh, i don't know..._them?_" he said, smirking.

"_PUT IT DOWN! DROP YOUR WEAPON!_" Kurt's voice rang out, loud and clear, followed by multiple footsteps and gun's cocking. Corey's eyes widened and he spun around, grabbing Magnus around the throat and standing behind him, squeezing. He gagged and struggled against the hold. He saw his partner's eyes widen and Kurt hesitated. Magnus mouthed the words that could very well end his life. If Kurt missed, he was a goner.

Pull the trigger.

I'm sorry this is so late guys. With school starting back up, i've been _crazy _busy. Thank you again, Detective Vinci, for being such a dedicated reader! I hope this didnt disappoint too much and remember, i love reviews! Love y'all!


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